Demi Lovato
Demetria "Demi" Devonne Lovato, born August 20, 1992, is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress. She is known for her role as Sonny on Sonny with a Chance, Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock and its sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. Lovato is currently appearing on the fifth season of glee ''as Dani. Personal life Lovato was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico (and raised in Dallas, Texas) to Dianna De La Garza and Patrick Lovato, who died in June 2013. She has three siblings, Dallas, Madison De La Garza (half), and Amber (paternal half-sister). Lovato earned a high school diploma through homeschooling in April 2009, she was bullied so severely that she requested a home-schooled education. She later became a spokesperson for anti-bullying organization PACER and appeared on ''America's Next Top Model to speak out against bullying. Lovato had suffered from eating disorders and self-mutilation of her wrists to cope with her emotions and depression. She entered a treatment facility to confront "physical and emotional issues" and would later acknowledged having suffered from bulimia, self-injury, and "self-medicating" with drugs and alcohol, which she stated was "like a lot of teens do to numb their pain." Lovato added that she had "basically had a nervous breakdown" and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder during the treatment, also noting that she had gained weight during the process. Career Lovato, and alongside eventual friend Selena Gomez, began her acting career on Barney & Friends portraying Angela at the age of 7. She playing piano at the age of seven and guitar at the age of ten, at which time she also enrolled in dancing and acting classes, and also began learning to play piano and guitar. She appeared on Prison Break, and she was on Just Jordan in 2006 and she played the role of Charlotte Adams on As the Bell Rings between 2007 and 2008. Lovato, one the same day in the summer of 2007 auditioned for parts in Sonny with a Chance and Camp Rock and ended up getting both parts, both of them being the lead roles.And although her acting was thought to be underwhelming in Camp Rock, her singing was genuinely praised. Between these roles, Demi also had the opportunity to record and release her first and second album. Lovato's debut album Don't Forget was released on September 23, 2008. Max Paradise from Sputnikmusic appreciated the enjoyable nature of the record, while Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly was more critical of its lyrical content and Lovato's vocals. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with 89,000 copies in first-week sales. Ten of its songs were co-written with the Jonas Brothers. The album has since been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), having sold over 500,000 units in the country. Its lead single "Get Back" was praised for displaying prominent pop rock styles, and reached a peak position of number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Similarly, the second and final single "La La Land" was appreciated for its strong showing of rock elements. The track peaked at number 52 in the United States. Lovato's second studio album Here We Go Again was released on July 21, 2009. She described its acoustic-sounding styles as being similar to the works of John Mayer. The album received favorable reviews from critics; they appreciated the enjoyable nature and pop rock elements of the record, echoing sentiments expressed for Don't Forget. It debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 108,000 copies in first-week sales, becoming her first number one album in the country. Prior to the album's release, Lovato embarked on the Summer Tour 2009 for promotion. Its singles "Here We Go Again" and "Remember December" were recognized by Stephen Thomas Erlewine as highlights from the project. Having peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, the former became Lovato's first top 40 hit as a solo artist; the latter peaked at number 80 on the UK Singles Chart. With the success of the first movie, Demi then reprised her role of Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam in September 2011. And the movie premiered with 8 Million viewers, becoming the number one cable television movie fo the year. After this movie, and along with her personal struggles, Demi left her TV show Sonny with a Chance, effectively ending the series, although it did return as a spin-off, no longer featuring Lovato. Demi did take her time away from television to get back to the studio to begin working on her third studio album. Her third album was titled Unbroken and its lead single "Skyscraper" received universal acclaim for its message of self-worth and confidence, and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its second and final single "Give Your Heart a Break" drew favorable comparisons to the works of Cyndi Lauper and Madonna from the 1980s, and peaked at number 16 in the United States. Skyscraper has since been certified Platinum in the US, while Give Your Heart a Break has been certified 2x Platinum in the US. Lovato held her Summer Tour 2012 from June through September, marking the third leg in her concert tour A Special Night with Demi Lovato. The show included performances throughout North and South America. In July 2012, "Skyscraper" was nominated for "Best Video With a Message" at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, which she won. She began has been appearing as a judge on The X Factor in 2012, which was the shows second season, and was the only judge to return to the show for it's third season, along with Simon Cowell. With returning to The X Factor for another season alongside new judges; Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio, her salary doubled to that of her first season. She then released her fourth album Demi. Demi was released on May 10, 2013. Straying from the R&B styles featured in Unbroken, the record predominantly incorporates electropop and teen pop elements. The transition was appreciated by Jon Carmichael from The New York Times for its fun nature, though Entertainment Weekly opined that it developed a less-mature image for Lovato. It debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 110,000 copies, becoming her best-selling debut week of her career. The record attained acceptable international success, appearing in the top ten in territories including New Zealand and Spain and the UK. On June 11, Lovato released an iBooks-exclusive e-book, also titled Demi. The second single from the album, Made in the USA was released July 17 to coincide with Independence day. Lovato co-directed the accompanying music video, becoming her directorial debut. She also contributed to the The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones soundtrack album, recording the song "Heart by Heart." It was announced that she would be returning to acting in late 2013, and was revealed to be joining the cast of Glee as Dani starting from the shows fifth season. It was confirmed by Glee, through Twitter, on August 22, 2013. Filmography Film Television Trivia *She is 5 ft 3½ in or 161 cm tall. *She was mentioned in the episode Makeover by Rachel Berry and by Dalton Rumba. *Prior to her appearance on Glee, her song Give Your Heart a Break ''was covered in the fourth episode of Season Four, The Break-Up, by Rachel and Brody *She is good friends with ''Glee star Chord Overstreed as well as Kevin McHale whom she has known since she was around 9 years old. *She and Kevin both hosted the 2012 Teen Choice Awards, where she won the award titles for Female Summer Music Star and Twit, and the show won an award for Comedy. *She's the first former Disney star to appear in the show. *Was best friend with fellow former Disney star Selena Gomez from 2002 to 2010, but they're eventually best friends again since 2011. *Dated Camp Rock co-star, former Jonas Brothers member and Disney star, Joe Jonas from March to May in 2010. *She returned to Disney in 2013 to cover her version of Idina Menzel's song, Let it Go, for the Disney animated movie Frozen. *She is currently balancing her schedule for two of Fox's TV shows; as a special guest star on Glee, and as one of the judges of The X Factor. Quotes Gallery Tumblr m3515xMSen1rr1d5jo2 250.gif Video's